This invention relates to methods of and apparatus for forming, filling and sealing packages, and more particularly to vertical form-fill-seal packaging methods and apparatus.
The invention is especially directed to the type of package forming, filling and sealing in which flexible packaging material is formed into tubing, the tubing being fed downwardly and transversely sealed at package length intervals, a quantity of the product with which the packages are to be filled being delivered into the tubing during an interval of time between successive sealing operations, and is particularly concerned with problems encountered in the packaging of products such as potato chips or other snack foods comprising individual loose pieces which, as delivered into the tubing, may be too loosely packed and take up space greater than the volume of the pouch or bag to be formed, and which may extend up above the next seal to be made, thereby interfering with formation of the seal.